Mampong(Ash), Feb. 13, GNA - Authorities of Mampong-Ashanti Government Hospital have appealed to the Government, NGO's, philanthropists and Civil Society for assistance to prevent its imminent closure.

The 154-bed hospital, with a specialized maternity unit, has only one Ghanaian doctor and two Cuban doctors and on the verge of closure because of the shortage of doctors, nurses and other qualified professional health workers.

Dr Emmanuel Ahiable, Medical Superintendent of the hospital announced this at an end-of-year get-together organized for the staff and other stakeholders at Mampong-Ashanti.

He said problems of the hospital were further compounded by the Government's inability to promptly reimburse it with more than 490 million cedis for expenses made under the medical exemptions policy. Dr Ahiable therefore, appealed to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Sekyere West District Assembly to take immediate measures to attract doctors and other essential health personnel to the hospital. He noted that efforts to provide quality services, especially under the National Health Insurance Scheme would be difficult because of shortage of staff.

Dr Ahiable, who performs the multiple roles of Hospital Chief Executive, surgeon and general practitioner, said efforts must be made to attract Ghanaian doctors to the hospital.

He commended workers of the hospital for their hard work and dedication that resulted in modest successes, but urged them to change some negative attitudes that was affecting the hospital's image. Dr Ahiable warned that the authorities would not tolerate any negative attitude to work this year, and pledged their support to those who would work hard and deal drastically with saboteurs. Mr Huruna Oppong-Boateng, Sekyere West District Chief Executive expressed gratitude to the workers for their dedication to duty despite the difficulties.

He pledged the support of the assembly to address some of the problems confronting the hospital. Mr Oppong-Boateng appealed to health workers to support the District Health Insurance Scheme to succeed. 13 Feb. 06